Ash receptacle for automobiles

ABSTRACT

The ash tray is of the drawer type conventionally utilized in vehicles. A housing or retainer is provided for attachment to the dashboard or other suitable support structure within the vehicle. The drawer, which is for the reception of ashes, is slidably received within the housing for withdrawal as the need arises. The housing includes a center panel with depending flanges on opposite sides thereof, with tracks provided on the flanges. A pressure plate extends across the housing beneath the center panel and is spaced therefrom. Resilient means made from a yieldable material such as rubber or from a plastic material is interposed in the space between the center panel and the pressure plate. Fastening means yieldably connect the pressure plate to the center panel of the retainer. With such a construction the end portions of the pressure plate engage rails provided on the drawer and yieldably urges the rails of the drawer against the tracks provided on the housing.

United States Patent [191 Blake ASH RECEPTACLE FOR AUTOMOBILES [75] Inventor: Jack W. Blake, Grand Rapids, Mich.

] Assignee: F. L. Jacobs C0., Southfield, Mich.

] Filed: June 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 373,733

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 220,236, Jan. 24, 1972,

abandoned.

[52] U.S. Cl. 312/246 [51] Int. Cl B6011 3/08, B60n 3/10, B60n 3/12 [58] Field Of Search 312/242, 245, 246, 248,

312/319, 314; 206/195, 19 D, 19.5 E, 19.5 T; 248/27, 15

[111 3,825,314 5] July 23, 1974 Primary ExaminerPaul R. Gilliam Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Whittemore, Hulbert & Belknap 5 7 ABSTRACT The ash tray is of the drawer type conventionally utilized in vehicles. A housing or retainer is provided for attachment to the dashboard or other suitable support structure within the vehicle. The drawer, which is for the reception of ashes, is slidably received within the housing for withdrawal as the need arises. The housing includes a center panel with depending flanges on 0pposite sides thereof, with tracks provided on the flanges. A pressure plate extends across the housing beneath the center panel and is spaced therefrom. Resilient means made from a yieldable material such as rubber or from a plastic material is interposed in the space between the center panel and the pressure plate. Fastening means yieldably connect the pressure plate to the center panel of the retainer. With such a construction the end portions of the pressure plate engage rails provided on the drawer and yieldably urges the rails of the drawer against the tracks provided on the housing.

15 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENTEU 4 3.825.314

SIIEEI 10$ 2 ASH RECEPTACLE FOR AUTOMOBILES CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Numerous designs for vehicle ash trays have been made in the past. An acceptable ash tray design must meet a number of requirements. One requirement is that the ash tray construction must be susceptible to low cost manufacture. Another is that the design should be compact so as to use a minimum amount of space in the vehicle. The ash tray design must be rugged to withstand the stress of years of use in a vehicle. Further in drawer-type ash trays, the drawer must be easily slidable inwardly and outwardly and it must be sufficiently restrained so that it will not move without the application of an external force applied thereto.

The construction must be such that the drawer will not bind or jam and that it will be maintained in proper alignment at all times. Finally, the drawer must be easily removable to permit emptying thereof.

The present invention utilizes a minimum number of parts including a yieldably mounted pressure plate and combines all of the aforementioned qualities to an optimum degree. The ash tray although intended primarily for automotive use in the familiar environment of the vehicles dashboard includes certain improved features in point of structural simplicity, low costs and durability, which recommends the structure for other applications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The ash receptacle structure is of the simplest possible construction consistent with the stable retracto and return guiding of its ash receptacle member or drawer in reference to a fixed retainer member or housing. No roller or other moving parts are employed and the receptacle may be fully withdrawn for emptying, then replaced by purely sliding movements, i.e., not requiring any further manual unlatching operation or the like, in short, such as would increase the cost of production of the unit. The housing is of unique construction in that it includes a center panel with downwardly depending track flanges and being further provided with a pressure plate extending beneath the center panel and yieldably connected thereto by fastening devices such as rivets. lnterposed in the space between the center panel and the pressure plate is one or more yieldable elements made from rubber, plastic or other suitable resilient material. The yieldable pressure plate which is connected to the housing is adapted to have its end portions engage the rails provided on the retractable drawer with the result that the rails are yieldably urged into contact with the tracks provided on the housing. Accordingly, the provision of the pressure plate permits easy sliding between the drawer and the housing while at the same time resulting in a snug fit between the tracks and rails. This prevents rattling or unwanted movement of the drawer and results in an ash tray which includes the aforementioned design quantities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS I I FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the vehicle ash tray in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the ash tray of FIG. 1 with the solid lines showing the drawer of the ash tray'in a closed position and the dotted line illustrating the drawer of the ash tray in an opened position;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the ash tray illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 taken on the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary end view of one of the rails of the drawer; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view of one of the drawers rail looking in the direction of arrow 7 of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The automobile ash tray structure of the invention generally designated by the reference numeral 10 comprises the usual two basic components, namely, 'a fixed mounting retainer or housing 12 and an ash box, tray or receptacle member 14 guided for sliding movement by the fixed mount or housing 12. The latter, structural features of which are hereinafter described in detail, is fixedly mounted in the usual manner by appropriate screw means or the like (not shown) in the space of an automobile directly behind its dashboard.

The ash receptacle or drawer 14 comprises an opentopped body member preferably in the form of a fairly deep drawn or formed sheet metal stamping providing a pair of upright or vertical side walls 16, a front wall 18, a rear wall 20 and a bottom wall 22' all integrally connected at rounded bottom comers to constitute a rigid receptacle entity. The walls of drawer 14 are unitarily and rigidly united, as at the front and rear ends thereof by bending, crimping and, preferably, spot welding in a known manner, not deemed necessary for detailed illustration. The front wall 18 is marked by a generally rectangular escutcheon panel 24 which is shaped cross sectionally in contour to blend with surrounding zones of the instrument or dash panel (not shown) when the receptacle or ash tray structure 10 is in a closed condition. The escutcheon panel 24 is secured to front wall 18 at the top thereof by a conventional clamping arrangement 19 and at the bottom thereof by a rivet 25 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

For the purpose of fixedly mounting the retainer or housing 12 within the dashboard zone of the automobile, retainer bracket 26 is provided which includes an elongated center section 28 provided at the edges thereof with downwardly extending flanges 30 of generally triangular shaped configuration as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4. It should be understood, however, that in some applications the housing 12 could be fixedly mounted within the dashboard zone without requiring a retainer bracket 26. The front edge 32 of each bracket flange 30 is downwardly and rearwardly inclined (FIGS. 2 and 4) and is provided with a similarly downwardly and rearwardly inclined mounting tab or leg 34 which is perpendicular to the corresponding flange 30. The center section 28 of bracket 26 is punch-riveted to the top of housing 12 as will be subsequently described. The legs 34 are punched at 36 for the reception of suitable screw means (not shown) to fixedly locate the mounting bracket 26 and housing 12 in the dashboard (not shown).

Each side wall 16, as shown in FIG. 5, is provided on the upper edge portion with a generally C-shaped rail 38 which is offset outwardly from the plane of the generally flat and vertical portion 40 of the longitudinally K extending side wall 16. The rail 38 is defined by an upwardly and outwardly extending wall portion 42, a vertical wall portion 44 and an inwardly turned flange portion 46 which are arranged in the order mentioned to form rail 38.

The retainer 12 includes a center panel 50 provided at the longitudinally extending side edges thereof with downwardly extending flanges 52. The front end portion of each housing or retainer flange 52 is provided with a leg or ear 54 which includes a downwardly extending inwardly turned wall section or portion 56 defining a track 58 and a vertically extending wall portion 60. i

An elongated pressure plate 64 of generally rectangular configuration is yieldably mounted in the retainer or housing 12 in spaced relation to the center panel 50. The longitudinal edges 66 of the plate 64 are curved slightly upwardly as shown in FIG. 4. Interposed in thespace 68 between the pressure plate 64 and the center panel 50 along the longitudinal edgesof the plate 64 are a pair of resilient or yieldable elements 70 made from rubber or from a suitable plastic or synthetic material. The. elements 70 are retained on the plate 64 by the provisions of the curved edges 66 as shown in FIG. 4.

The pressure plate 64. is yieldably connected to the retainer 12 by one or more fastening elements, as an example, by a pair of rivets 74. The rivets 74 are headed on both ends as shown in FIG. 5 and extend through the plate 64, space 68, center panel 50 of the retainer 12 and the center section 28 of the mounting bracket 26. A small amount of clearance is provided between the rivets 74 and the parts connected thereby to permit the pressure plate to yield or give slightly.

The retainer 12, retainer bracket26, drawer l4 and pressure plate 64 are made, as an example, from cold rolled steel or from other suitable metals or suitable materials such as plastic. The elongated pressure plate 64 is of rectangular configuration in its longitudinal extent and is further illustrated as having a generally rectangular cross section in FIGS. 4 and 5 although in constructing same the upper and lower surfaces 76 and 78 of the plate 64 are slightly curved on a radius of approximately 9.16 inches. It should be appreciated that pressure plate 64 would have flat surfaces 76, 78 when used with a retainer having straight or horizontal tracks. The pressure plate 64, as an example, is made from cold rolled steel having a thickness of 0.030 inch and is provided with two longitudinal edges 66 and 66' which are upwardly curved as shown in FIG. 4. Longitudinal edge 66 extends upwardly 0.07 inch while edge 66' extends upwardly 0.02 inch.

Each rail 38 on the drawer 14 is provided at the rear end thereof with a notch or struck out metal protrusion 82 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The protrusions 82 serve I tions of said pressure plate engaging the upper surfaces of said rails on said drawer.

as positive stops which cooperate with surfaces provided on the housing 12, as an example, the rear surfaces of the legs 54, to prevent accidental removal of the drawer 14. When it is required to move the drawer 14, as an example, for removing the ashes therefrom, a force is applied to the drawer 14 which raises the rear end of the drawer l4 and permits the drawer 14 to be removed from the housing 12. The drawer 14 can be reinserted into the housing 12 by reversing the procedure as is well known in the art.

The usual cigarette snuffer, not shown, may be provided on the inner surface of a wall of the drawer.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An ash tray comprising a housing including a stationary center panel with depending flanges on opposite sides thereof, said flanges including inwardly extending portions forming tracks on said flanges, said tracks being spacedbelow said center panel, a vertically movable pressure plate extending across said housing between said center panel and said tracks, said pressure plate being spaced below and extending parallel to said center panel, with the end portions of said pressure plate overlying and being spaced above said' tracks, resilient means interposed between said center panel and said pressure plate,'fastening means yieldably connecting said pressure plate to said center panel, and an ash drawer provided with rails having upper and lower surfaces, said drawer being slidingly received in said housing with the lower surfaces of said rails engag ing said tracks, said drawer when assembled in said housing urging said movable pressure plate towards said center panel to thereby place said resilient means under compression, said resilient means when compressed by the insertion of said drawer in. said housing urging said rails against said tracks, with the end por- 2. The ash tray defined in claim 1 wherein said resilient means is in the form of a pair of elements made from a yieldable material, said elements being spaced apart and located at the end portions of said pressure plate, said elements having upper and lower surfaces engaging said center panel and said pressure plate respectively.

3. The ash tray defined in claim 2 wherein said elements are made from a rubber-like material.

4. The ash tray defined in claim 2 wherein said elements are made from a plastic material.

5. The ash tray defined in claim 2 wherein said fastening means includes at least one fastening element which permits relative movement between said center panel and said plate.

6. The ash tray defined in claim 5 wherein said fastening element is in the form of a rivet.

7. The ash tray defined in claim 1 wherein stop means are provided at the end of each rail engageable with the housing to prevent accidental withdrawal of the drawer from the housing.

8. The ash tray defined in claim 1 wherein said pressure plate is elongated and of rectangular configuration in its longitudinal extent.

9. The ash tray defined in claim 9 wherein said pressure plate is made from a relatively rigid material.

10. The ash tray defined in claim 2 wherein upper and lower surfaces of said pressure plate are formed flat.

11. The ash tray defined in claim wherein the longitudinal side edges of said pressure plate are curved on a radius in the same direction.

12. An ash tray comprising a housing including a stationary center panel with depending flanges on opposite sides thereof, tracks on said flanges, a vertically movable pressure plate extending across said housing beneath said center panel, said plate being spaced substantially below said center panel adjacent corresponding opposite side zones of the plate and panel, resilient means interposed between the center panel and said plate, lost motion fastening means yieldably connecting said movable pressure plate to said center panel, and an ash drawer provided with rails slidably received in said housing with said rails engaging and movable along said tracks, said drawer when assembled in said housing urging said movable pressure plate towards said center panel, as accommodated by said lost-motion fastening means, to thereby place said resilient means under compression, said resilient means when compressed by the insertion of said drawer in said housing urging the rails against said tracks, with the side portions of said pressure plate engaging the rails on said drawer.

13. The ash tray defined in claim 12 wherein said resilient means is in the form of a pair of elements made from a yieldable material, said elements being spaced apart and located at the end portions of said pressure plate, said elements having upper and lower surfaces curved on a radius in the same direction. 

1. An ash tray comprising A housing including a stationary center panel with depending flanges on opposite sides thereof, said flanges including inwardly extending portions forming tracks on said flanges, said tracks being spaced below said center panel, a vertically movable pressure plate extending across said housing between said center panel and said tracks, said pressure plate being spaced below and extending parallel to said center panel, with the end portions of said pressure plate overlying and being spaced above said tracks, resilient means interposed between said center panel and said pressure plate, fastening means yieldably connecting said pressure plate to said center panel, and an ash drawer provided with rails having upper and lower surfaces, said drawer being slidingly received in said housing with the lower surfaces of said rails engaging said tracks, said drawer when assembled in said housing urging said movable pressure plate towards said center panel to thereby place said resilient means under compression, said resilient means when compressed by the insertion of said drawer in said housing urging said rails against said tracks, with the end portions of said pressure plate engaging the upper surfaces of said rails on said drawer.
 2. The ash tray defined in claim 1 wherein said resilient means is in the form of a pair of elements made from a yieldable material, said elements being spaced apart and located at the end portions of said pressure plate, said elements having upper and lower surfaces engaging said center panel and said pressure plate respectively.
 3. The ash tray defined in claim 2 wherein said elements are made from a rubber-like material.
 4. The ash tray defined in claim 2 wherein said elements are made from a plastic material.
 5. The ash tray defined in claim 2 wherein said fastening means includes at least one fastening element which permits relative movement between said center panel and said plate.
 6. The ash tray defined in claim 5 wherein said fastening element is in the form of a rivet.
 7. The ash tray defined in claim 1 wherein stop means are provided at the end of each rail engageable with the housing to prevent accidental withdrawal of the drawer from the housing.
 8. The ash tray defined in claim 1 wherein said pressure plate is elongated and of rectangular configuration in its longitudinal extent.
 9. The ash tray defined in claim 9 wherein said pressure plate is made from a relatively rigid material.
 10. The ash tray defined in claim 2 wherein upper and lower surfaces of said pressure plate are formed flat.
 11. The ash tray defined in claim 10 wherein the longitudinal side edges of said pressure plate are curved on a radius in the same direction.
 12. An ash tray comprising a housing including a stationary center panel with depending flanges on opposite sides thereof, tracks on said flanges, a vertically movable pressure plate extending across said housing beneath said center panel, said plate being spaced substantially below said center panel adjacent corresponding opposite side zones of the plate and panel, resilient means interposed between the center panel and said plate, lost motion fastening means yieldably connecting said movable pressure plate to said center panel, and an ash drawer provided with rails slidably received in said housing with said rails engaging and movable along said tracks, said drawer when assembled in said housing urging said movable pressure plate towards said center panel, as accommodated by said lost-motion fastening means, to thereby place said resilient means under compression, said resilient means when compressed by the insertion of said drawer in said housing urging the rails against said tracks, with the side portions of said pressure plate engaging the rails on said drawer.
 13. The ash tray defined in claim 12 wherein said resilient means is in the form of a pair of elements made from a yieldable material, said elements being spaced apart and located at the end portions of said pressure plate, said elements having upper and lower surfaces engaging said center panel and said pressure plate respectively.
 14. The ash tray defined in claim 12 wherein said lost motion fastening means includes at least one fastening element which permits relative movement between said center panel and said plate.
 15. The ash tray defined in claim 12 wherein said pressure plate is elongated and of rectangular configuration in its longitudinal extent with the upper and lower surfaces of said pressure plate being flat and with the longitudinal side edges of said pressure plate being curved on a radius in the same direction. 